History Repeating: Mike Brown takes the Fall…Again
May 13, 2014Bridgewater on Cleveland: “I told my agent that’s not the place where I wanted to be”
May 13, 2014At the Hall of Fame luncheon in Canton on Monday, Jimmy Haslam spoke about the newest star coming to Cleveland in quarterback Johnny Manziel. Haslam told the gathered crowd about the conversation that the team had with Manziel when he arrived in Cleveland after the draft.
“Mike Pettine said it very well,” Haslam told the very interested group. “Johnny, right now you’re our back-up quarterback and you need to act like such.
“He’s highly competitive, and I think you’ll see a guy that comes in and goes to work and goes to work hard,” Haslam continued. “We were very frank with him on Friday that’s the expectation, you’re the backup quarterback. This is a hard-working, blue-collar town, this isn’t Hollywood. We want you to come in and go to work.”
Judging by Manziel’s comments on Friday, he got the message. At least for now.
“I believe itâs a team game,” Manziel said. “There are a lot of factors that play into everything. I feel like in my situation coming in, whateverâs best for the team, Iâm going to do and try to contribute in any way I can. I know from the top, the front office to everybody in the building when I was there, they wanted nothing more than to win and be successful, and I feel like I match that attitude.”
Let’s hope the message sticks with Manziel.
There is every possibility that Manziel ends up beating Hoyer out for the starting job when the Browns kick-off against the Steelers. As a Browns fan you have to love that the team is going to make him earn it.
Even if some see that as a joke.
https://twitter.com/ReillyRick/status/466063750139637760
Cleveland has seen it’s share of Spoiled Athlete Syndrome. The city’s hunger and longing for a championship might even make it more likely than most to put its stars on pedestals. Johnny Manziel’s jersey is the hottest selling at the NFL.com team shop right now. Certainly there are more than just Browns fans buying them, but it won’t be long before they start popping up all over town.
Sitting Johnny down and telling him from Day 1 what the team’s expectations are was a good move. Set the tone that if you want to play, you will have to dig in and work.
This Pettine guy is starting to grow on me. But we have seen quarterback competitions that weren’t really competitions before (cough… Weeden). It’s one thing to say it, and another thing completely to carry it out.
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Johnny Clipboard!
Meanwhile, we have national media – like Rick “Used to be a Good Writer” Reilly – making a mockery of any hope to have Manziel compete for the job. I caught a few seconds of Sportscenter (I don’t know why I did that) this morning and heard Stuart Scott teasing an upcoming segment with a clip of some analyst announcing that the Browns weren’t going to just hand the job to Manziel, followed by his narrative of (something like) “Yeah, right. Can you imagine starting the season with Manziel NOT being your starting QB??”
You know what I hate? The media creating immovable narratives that people then believe they have to follow. The pressure on the Browns to start Manziel is going to be so great that it will be nearly impossible to stay the proper course. I hope beyond hope that this team is truly as transcendent as they have appeared to be over the last few months.
Coach Pettine (I know you’re reading this): Please understand that the whole world calling you a fool does not mean that you’re a fool. Do the right thing.
Johnny Ballcap!
Go-fer Johnny
(go-fer donuts, go-fer coffee, go-fer sandwiches)
http://images.wikia.com/muppet/images/4/40/Scooter.jpg
If SC is calling you a fool, then the odds are you are on the correct path.
Johnny 5
http://www.shinyshiny.tv/Johnny%205%20from%20Short%20Circuit.jpg
The media has never been accused of passing up the low hanging fruit as opposed to writing an actual constructive accurate narrative.
They sell more press by portraying our taking steps in attempts to stabilize as just more desperate actions of dysfunctional organizations.
And if they have personal stakes in the storyline (Cough…King…La Canfora…Cough), then the butthurt only fuels their desire depict you in the most unflattering way possible.
And if the Golden Boys fails…it’ll be our fault…of course.
IS ALIVE!!!!!
the last statement is true though. if the new Golden Boy fails because the team listened to the media, then they get what they deserve.
I want to see Pettine laugh out loud when asked by MKC when Manziel would be starting after he states Hoyer will begin camp as QB1. Just uncontrollably laughing where he has to ask to catch his breath for a minute before responding.
http://lornasvoice.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/baby-laughing.gif
great move by the FO to put out a public statement like this. it was not said to put Johnny in his place, it was done to try and temper the hype of browns fans and national media. #PumpTheBrakes
Johnny Taped to the Goalposts!
I don’t think Haslam needed to say a word personally but I’m not surprised he’d want to remind Manziel or everyone else that he’s still the owner.
I was against drafting Manziel no way did I want his act on the Cleveland Browns but this kid has taken a beating by the great media social and otherwise. To the extent that part of me is really hoping he takes it all in, he studies, he practices and when his number is called he produces and shut everyone up. The sad part is if he does well the same people who bashed and knocked him will all of a sudden become believers and act as if he was their guy all along. That is until he suffers a blemish then they’ll be back on their original horse. It’s the ESPNification of sports in full effect.
This is MY featured comment.
Haden just signed 5 year extension $68mil
I didn’t want him either.
But, he’s a Brown now, and like it or not, our wagon is hooked to him.
So, the moment he dons the sacred orange helmet, go Johnny go!
I appreciate that but WFNY will never give me that honor and it’s okay because it just makes me study harder and practice more!
http://api.ning.com/files/FmvIMF83yFB8iNY2b9YghQqj1sD60ANP7ylIYUXQN0422zUXwAusqHZr21MH008If3KN7IEeu7iJAtImsW4b0kz7TAg-E0AO/Sweet.jpg
You’re the Johnny Manziel of WFNY.
I hope.
The fact he wasn’t taken at #4, the fact they drafted Gilbert and the fact that they added another first round draft pick all helped ease the selection of Manziel for me. Like you said he’s here now and it’s for better or worse so you might as well pray for the first. If the football Gods require a human sacrifice I’m sure someone will step up and if not I volunteer Steven! đ
Great news! As one Union soldier said when a rider reported the Confederate surrender at Appomattox:
You’re the son of a b!@$% we’ve been looking for these 4 years!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04KQydlJ-qc&feature=kp
Pettine’s words are good. But his in-season actions and coaching will tell. I’m sure Johnny’s used to coaches trying to deflate that sense of entitlement, and he knows what to say in response. The proof will be when the fans are clamoring, when the owner is “just curious” where the coach stands on the QB issue, when there’s been some losses and Hoyer looks kind of pedestrian against tough defenses. That’s when we’ll see how tough Pettine is, how secure he feels and how mature Johnny is at this stage.
What’s said in the month of May means nothing. The fire under the kettle hasn’t even been lit yet.
While I agree with the message, Haslam needs to pick his words more carefully. Don’t call the guy you just picked in the 1st round a backup. Call the incumbent the starter. Talk about Manziel earning it. Call Hoyer the man and invoke Ric Flair. But don’t give the national media the cheap, easy headline – Haslam: Manziel is “backup QB”.
In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t really anything, but it shows a certain lack of media savvy that was all too common during the Holmgren era. Eventually, Holmgren’s lack of refinement ended up turning little stories into large controversies (Concussiongate) and did the organization no favors. So please Jimmah, get a handle on this now.
He clearly needs to become adept at phrases like:
“National Football League”;
“Quarterback position”;
and my new favorite,
“He’s got length.”
Meh. The lack of media savvy has never bothered me, even when it was Hasgrum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy-LQH8N6Ug
If you don’t like it, learn to love it!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
It has always been a pet peeve of mine. Not so much because it causes any real damage, but because these guys are professionals. This is their job. Take some pride and learn how to act and what to say. If Nuke can learn the art of delivering the meaningless sound bite, so can Haslam.
Like I said, I really don’t think it means anything though it definitely does make the Browns more of a joke on a national level (if that sort of thing bothers you).
Berea is enough of a circus. It could use one less clown.
I hope they mean it. A good way to arm themselves a bit against the onslaught is to simply talk more about winning now, this year. Trying to refocus everyone on actual football, as opposed to “eras” or “excitement” or “development” or “earning”— that’s the way to respond to this.
“We will play whoever the coaches feel give us the best chance to win on September 7th in Pittsburgh.” That’s really all they should say about this ever. Any comment at all on the future or team chemistry or even talk of “winning the job” or anything other than this kind of simple blunt force statement is a mistake. They should make a mockery of all the questions by answering them all exactly the same way every single time.
Drew Rosenhaus style! Next question…
http://televisionsproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/hypnotoad.gif
I suppose it’s good to have your professional football people talk like professionals, but I guess I don’t really care how the owner talks as long as he lets the professionals be the professions. But then I suppose it would be better to not have the owner talking about starters and back-ups at all – which I guess is your point. Still doesn’t bother me, though.
Johnny Bench(Warmer)
planes, trains, and automobiles….
How about the cubs!
At the very least, Hoyer is the starter until the bye week.